North Myrtle Beach spokesman Pat Dowling says wind speeds will determine if the Barefoot Resort & Golf Swing Bridge can reopen on January 16.

The repainting of the bridge is complete, and Dowling says the goal is to reopen the bridge to at least one lane of traffic Monday night.

But, if wind speeds approach 20 mph Friday, the shroud covering the bridge cannot be removed. It would be too dangerous for the workers removing the shroud.

As of Friday morning, wind speeds at the bridge were between 18 and 20 mph, with gusts up to 22 mph.

Dowling said if crews can remove the shroud, they will then remove contractor materials from the bridge, and test swing the bridge on Sunday.

If the winds are too great, the process would be pushed to some time around January 18th.

"We are close to nailing the original reopening date," said Dowling. "However, my advice to Barefoot residents, businesses and visitors who need to make travel or delivery plans today is to focus on a January 18 reopening date. We will keep them advised of any changes."

Dowling also explained what would happen once the bridge reopens:

Once movement to the bridge has been fully restored, one lane will be open to vehicle traffic for about two days. During that time, steel workers will replace some steel plates located below the road bed, and painters will then paint the new plates. This is necessary because, during the repainting process, it was discovered that the drain pipes that drain the road bed when it rains were too short. For years, storm water has poured out of the drains and on to the steel plates, eroding them to the point where they must be replaced.

The old drain pipes, which may have been original to the bridge or may have been installed when the bridge was dry-docked and refurbished prior to its installation at Barefoot Resort & Golf, have been removed and longer drain pipes have been installed.

Painters will also paint some small locations where hardware attached the shroud to the bridge.

When this work has been accomplished, all lanes will reopen to vehicle traffic and the project will be completed. The deadline for completing the entire repainting project was February 15, 2012.

At the end of the city's news release, Dowling included the following:

ADDITIONAL FACTS

*In addition to January 13 wind speed conditions, the contractor lost at least one full work week due to other weather conditions.

*During the week of January 9, despite having created a heated environment within the shroud, plunging outdoor temperatures brought the core temperature of the bridge's structural steel below the point where paint could effectively be applied. Four days of work were lost. The contractor brought in extra workers and made up for the time lost.

*During the week of January 16, a day of strong downpours caused an excessive amount of rainwater to collect on top of the shroud covering the bridge. The sheer weight of the water broke through the top of the shroud. The shroud was repaired but the resulting high

humidity within the shrouded work environment extended the time it took to fully dry the bridge structure and to reestablish an environment conducive to the successful application of paint. The contractor brought in extra workers and made up for the time lost.

9,000 pounds of paint chips were removed from the bridge